This invention relates to an applicator for in particular manually controlled application of a light-curable composite material according to the preamble of the initial patent claim 1 and an arrangement of a light source on the applicator.
Materials of different viscosities are meted out via an applicator for various purposes. The materials can be liquid or viscous. The applicator can be manually operated depending on the application and intended use.
To apply customary glues, hot glue guns are known, as an example, that can be provided with lighting to illuminate the work area in accordance with DE 102 17 306 A1. The curing of the glue that is dispensed requires a long period of time, however. Furthermore, a risk of injury exists because of the high temperature of the hot glue gun.
Hand-held equipment for dispensing and mixing viscous fluids, which is used in the dental sector for instance, is also known. A solution of that type is described in DE 199 35 292 A1. To illuminate the treatment area, a light guide is provided for a pistol-type hand-held device that can be connected to a source via a coupler. The light guide is provided with a rotating lens that bundles the light in the treatment area. A system comprising an application device in the form of a painting roller or spray gun for applying liquids to a surface to which the liquid can be applied from a work area is described in DE 10 2007 060 247 A1. The area 20 is specifically illuminated by a lighting unit that brings about a contrast between the coated and uncoated surfaces.
The above-mentioned solutions are not intended to be used to apply light-curable material, and the lighting equipment is accordingly not intended to be used for that and is also not suitable for curing the dispensed material.
A dispenser designed in the form of a pen for applying a liquid rust converter that has an output part for the liquid and a cap that can be put in a removable way on the output part is known from the document DE 87 09 115 U1. The cap is provided with an abrasive surface that can be used to remove loose paint and rust from a surface that the rust converter is supposed to be applied to. The output part has elastic walls made of a polymer material that surround an elongated container for holding a stock of rust converter, as well as an output tip made of a polymer material that has a housing mounted on the reservoir with a through-hole that is connected to an opening leading into the reservoir. The circumference of a valve element in the housing can make tight contact with an inner surface that forms an end part of the through-hole; a tip runs through the outlet end of the through-hole when the valve element makes tight contact with this inner surface. A pre-loading unit presses the valve element into the tight seat on the inner surface forming the end part of the through-hole and permits movement of the valve element into an open position in which it is at a distance from the inner surface so that rust converter can flow past it. The valve element can be put into its open position by pressing its tip onto a surface from which rust is to be removed. The flow of the rust converter at the open valve element can be strengthened by pressing inwards on the elastic walls forming the reservoir. If a desired amount of liquid has been applied, the dispenser is lifted off the surface, causing the valve element to tightly seal off the liquid in the container again. The cap can now be put onto the output part again in such a way that a hollow area in it takes in and protects the tip arrangement. This solution is not suitable for an application of light-curable material, because the light-curable material is usually used to combine components and it is therefore not desirable in many cases for a certain amount of pressure to be applied to the components to dispense it, as is the case in the above-mentioned solution. Furthermore, no LED exists because it is also not necessary.
A dispenser that is suitable for meting out flowing liquid glue, either in the form of a film or in the form of a series of small points or lines, wherein the dispenser has a container body that can be pressed together and has an outlet in the form of an elongated, cylindrical nozzle, is described in DE 89 09 092.6. The dispenser has a control cap with a coaxial tube that runs internally from the bottom of the flat, upper surface of the control cap, and the hole seats the nozzle. Moreover, the nozzle is provided with a positioning pin that works together with a screw groove in the inner surface of the tube to the effect that a rotation of the control cap by hand in a direction around the longitudinal axis of the nozzle causes the pin to travel along the groove in a direction against the end of the groove that is at a distance form the flat, upper surface of the control cap. This causes the nozzle to be pulled back into the dispenser until the tip of the nozzle is no longer projecting out of the flat, upper surface; rotation in the opposite direction causes the pin to run along the groove in a direction against the end of the groove that is closer to the flat, upper surface. This causes the tip of the nozzle to project out of the flat, upper surface of the control cap. The base of the nozzle is attached to the walls of the container body via a flexible membrane in order to make movement of the nozzle of that type possible. When the nozzle is in the retracted position in which its tip is not projecting out of the flat, upper surface of the control cap, this surface acts as a spreading or distributing tool so that the glue coming out of the nozzle can be spread out into a film. When, in contrast, the nozzle is in its forward position in which it is projecting out of the flat, upper surface of the control cap, glue from the nozzle tip can be dispensed in the form of a fine line or in the form of a series of points. The design structure of this dispenser is relatively complex. Furthermore, it is a drawback that a removable sealing cap is required to close up the dispenser. A light source is also unnecessary in this solution, because customary glue is dispensed here and not light-curable material.
A flash unit for curing light-curable materials, a method and a set are described in the document DE 10 2010 060 422 A1. A flash is generated with that; a light guide that is flexible in areas can be used for that. The flash unit is designed in the form of a ballpoint pen, for example, that can be switched on or off via the press of a button. The flash unit can have a reservoir for holding light-curable material that is arranged in a housing. The unit can be designed in the form of a pen with a reservoir for the light-curable material, for instance. An LED lamp is provided at the end of the housing opposite the outlet opening.
The housing has to be rotated crosswise to its longitudinal axis after the light-curable material is dispensed. The dispensed material is then cured by switching on the LED lamp.
A set that has at least one dispensing device with light-curable material that is seated in a removable way in a housing is known from a document DE 20 2011 109 785 U1. Moreover, a light-emitting device for curing the light-curable material is arranged on the housing in the form of an LED lamp. A dispensing unit for dispensing the light-curable material is connected in a detachable way to the dispensing device; the dispensing unit and/or a dosing channel of the dispensing unit for dispensing the light-curable material has a detachable closure. The dosing channel and the light-emitting device are formed or provided on two opposite end areas of the set; the housing has at least one opening for hand-controlled dosing of the light-curable material and a device for removable seating of the light-emitting device. A drawback here is that the reservoir in the form of the dispensing device is additionally encased in a housing. The fact that the LED is arranged on the end of the housing opposite the dosing channel likewise brings about an unfavorable effect on the handling process, because this makes it necessary to turn the set around after the light-curable material is dispensed and to only start the curing process at that point by actuating the LED.
It can happen that the light-curable material runs in an undesirable way before it is cured in the two above-mentioned solutions. Furthermore, insufficiently precise manual pressure regulation can be realized.